HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL

There are times in one’s life that you know, instantly, you’ll remember ‘til your dying day. For me, the election of Barack Hussein Obama to the post of leader of the Free World this past week was one such moment.

It is not just the colour of his skin that makes Obama’s election exceptional, although it is critical to remember (and continue doing so) that only 40 years ago, complete segregation ruled in America’s southern states. Neither is it that the President-Elect is arguably the best orator that the world has seen in decades. Obama’s ability to communicate his heartfelt sincerity and desire to ‘do the right thing’ is second to none. He is imbued with many attributes that have been the hallmarks of some great men before him, possessing, as Barack does, the sincerity of JFK; the passion of Martin Luther-King; and the intelligence of Bill Clinton.

Much more important, to my mind, however, is Obama’s innate ability to identify what is damaging the troubled world we live in today. He embodies the desires of not only his own nation but, I believe, the entire globe. We certainly live in troubled times, and our collective desire for hope and change has been answered with Obama’s victory.

The US$780 million campaign ‘war chest’ the Obama campaign assembled is, on one hand, absurdly high (if not a trifle obscene), but that the bulk of these funds comprised innumerable small donations from ever-hopeful Americans serves as a reminder that, unlike George W. Bush, Obama’s ‘base’ is as genuinely popular as it is inclusive. And his victory address - which I for one found profoundly moving - clearly laid out his desire for his nation and the wider world in the most inspired and most hopeful terms possible. Hope begins with belief, and thus it follows that a positive attitude when dealing with even the most challenging of situations will in most cases allow us all to prevail.

The burden of expectation now lies on the shoulders of just one man. Only time will tell whether Barack Obama can deliver on even half of his election promises, but I, together with millions like me, remain positive, upbeat and ever hopeful.

So thank you, Barack Obama. Your positive, ‘YES WE CAN’ message is just the tonic the world needed to hear. Hope does indeed spring eternal.